The Royal Game of the Goose

Book excerpt: "Numerous illustrations in color and black and white. Preface by former Grolier Club president William H. Helfand and introductory essays by Adrian Seville, followed by a catalogue of 71 games on show at the Club, February 24-May 14, 2016. Includes bibliography and index. "The Royal Game of the Goose" dates from medieval times. It is the simplest of games: throw the dice to race to the end of the spiral track. No choice of move, no demonstration of skill. Yet this game has spawned thousands of variants, has influenced early American board games, and is still going strong in Europe. The exhibition, based on Adrian Seville's collection in London, brings together 70 of these remarkable games. They are not primarily aimed at children, though some are educational, including the finely-printed games for the aristocratic cadets of 17th and 18th century France. Others are definitely for adults, including a polemical game on a religious heresy that still has power to shock by its imagery. Here too are games for politics, advertising - and just sheer family fun. One group of Goose Games shows how America was viewed from across the pond, including a 17th century game that depicts unique images of Native Americans. And, at the end of the 19th century, Jules Verne published a novel which describes a fantastical Goose Game in which the players travel across America to win a legacy from a Chicago millionaire. The final section invites you to try your luck in progressing from Errand Boy to "respected Banker and a good citizen." -- description from Oak Knoll Books.